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Evolution of RNA virus in spatially structured heterogeneous environments
Author(s) -
Cuevas J. M.,
Moya A.,
Elena S. F.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of evolutionary biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.289
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1420-9101
pISSN - 1010-061X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1420-9101.2003.00547.x
Subject(s) - biology , multicellular organism , vesicular stomatitis virus , adaptation (eye) , evolutionary biology , viral evolution , population , virus , experimental evolution , rna , rna virus , gene , genetics , demography , neuroscience , sociology
A hallmark of the infectious cycle for many RNA viruses parasitizing multicellular hosts is the need to invade and successfully replicate in tissues that comprise a variety of cell types. Thus, multicellular hosts represent a heterogeneous environment to evolving viral populations. To understand viral adaptation to multicellular hosts, we took a double approach. First, we developed a mathematical model that served to make predictions concerning the dynamics of viral populations evolving in heterogeneous environments. Second, the predictions were tested by evolving vesicular stomatitis virus in vitro on a spatially structured environment formed by three different cell types. In the absence of gene flow, adaptation was tissue‐specific, but fitness in all tissues decreased with migration rate. The performance in a given tissue was negatively correlated with its distance to the tissue hosting the population. This correlation decreased with migration rate.